The Lehigh City Council convened for a regular session to address a wide array of agenda items, including development agreements, zoning changes, budget amendments, and the approval of the Downtown Revitalization Plan. A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to discussing the proper procedures for initiating development agreements, ensuring land use applications are filed first, and reviewing the JDH property amendment. The council also voted on the Water's Edge development agreements, which were approved contingent on specific traffic and access conditions, while denying the associated zone changes. Additionally, the council adopted procedures for appointing a replacement council member to fill a current vacancy.
What if multiple individuals call in at the same time or record all those all those uh comments? It will. Okay. They have a way to take them and just call on them as they come or whatnot. Yeah, we have to use a 1-800 number or a toll-free number, I should say, and that's the reason to have the the uh the phone call uh be that and we'll have to use the best decorum that we can to ensure that everyone gets a chance. We'll err on the side of caution to allow that um but uh but that would that would be how the hearing would be held. Is there a is there a brief statement before they you know enter there so they can put their name and everything, but also this is this is what this is about, right? Yes. Yeah, we'll we'll uh explain what it's for and then we'll ask for names of those who would like to speak and then we'll read their name and give them a chance to to speak should they be interested. Questions? Just quick question. Is it so is it all call in then in person? Correct. Yeah, I mean bean got this in the email and and uh I I should just fall on my sword a little bit here. We have used the state process, right? Which was a hearing, a discussion, it was noticed in the paper, etcetera. The the TEFRA or federal treasury hearing is is not as robust as that. But we usually try to do them both at the same time. And uh when we've done these types of deals before, we've just relied upon the location by virtue of the project itself. My tax group came to me and said we're concerned because there's been emphasis recently in the last couple of years on a street address. I mean, I'm not sure anyone in Lehigh doesn't know where Thanksgiving point is, but uh there are some inexperienced auditors that may choose to get hung up on that. We all believe we would prevail. I don't think anyone's gonna have standing to say they didn't know where Thanksgiving point was in the state law process, but just to avoid the argument and extricating ourselves from that is the reason for recommending holding this uh uh TEFRA TEFRA hearing. And and I I honestly apologize. Um that's just something new since the last time we did a deal like this. But at the same time, that's why we use people like Randy and their firm is because there's things going on all over the country. It's not just Randy and his team here. They has people all over the you know, the tax specialists that are just help us to make sure we're we're uh 100% clean. So that's all it is. And there will be no action at the hearing, right? I mean, there will be no legislative action, no governmental action, it's just opening the closing the hearing. Any other questions? I assume we'll get a printout of all the comments. We'll be keeping minutes for that. Okay. Yes. Okay. Sorry you drove all the way here for that. I'm I'm I'm on my way to a certain basketball game. So you will go timely that's why the traffic's bad. Well, not the way I was coming, but now it will. Now it will be thank you. Okay. Uh item uh 2.3 is discussion of Cody Black's proposal to prepare a development agreement for a light manufacturing research and development business within the mixed use on a property located at 870 north 100 east. That is going to be followed by 2.4, which is will be related to that discussion, and that's a discussion of the development agreement review and approval process. And I tell you the reason we're doing that is because to have item two point three listed on the the agenda, that's we've never done it this way before. Uh developer agreements are important and they're an important part of the process, but they've always followed a particular order. Uh when we looked at it and we'd seen in the in the uh in the code that that order was not clear, that's what item 2.4 is. But normally uh for a developer agreement, the council is the legislative body. They have the right to make decisions, they have the right to uh to change uh legislation, local legislation, and they're often encouraged to do that.